U.S. Youth National Team Notes - March 11, 2004

NewsMar 11, 2004

With five U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams conducting training camps at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., this week, a large contingent of possible future full MNT and WNT players will be on display in the Sunshine State.

On the men’s side, the Under-18, Under-15 and the Under-17 Men’s National Teams will be playing games against each other, local clubs and formidable university squads. On the women’s side, the Under-16 and Under-17 Women’s National Teams will face international competition in the form of the Under-17 national teams of Germany and Canada.

With all four YNTs playing games throughout the week, ussoccer.com will provide results and special features on the teams and individual players to give fans a chance to get to know more about U.S. Soccer’s youth programs.

COURTNEY LEWIS SCORES FOR U-17 WNT TO DOWN U-16 GNT: Despite a gallant effort by the U-16 Girls’ National Team, they couldn’t put one past U-17 Women’s National Team ‘keeper Meagan McCray for the upset as the older squad squeaked out a 1-0 win behind a second half goal by Courtney Lewis. After a scoreless first half, Lewis notched the only goal of the game just over a minute into the second half, receiving a long ball from the midfield and chipping ‘keeper Alyssa Naeher. The U-16s fought back and had two shots cleared off the line by U –17 defender Kristina Larsen in the final 10 minutes of the match, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Both teams will finish up their week-long training camps on Friday (March 12) as the U-17s take on Germany U-17 and the U-16s face Canada U-17.

U-15 MNT DEFEAT U-17 IMG 3-1 FOR FIRST VICTORY OF THE WEEK: The U.S. Under-15 Men’s National Team beat the U-17 IMG 3-1 this afternoon at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. After a scoreless first half, IMG scored three minutes into the second half, but Peri Mesosevic scored two goals and Joseph Sorrentino scored in the 90th minute to give the U-15s their first win of the week.

REVIEW OF GAMES, REST OF SCHEDULE: With the week almost over, all five YNTs are hitting their stride and playing their best soccer. On Friday, each team will need their top game as they will be facing some of the toughest competition of the camp. Below is a list of results from the week and a schedule of games to come.

Click here for full match reports from March 10:/articles/viewArticle.jsp_55100.htmlJULES TALKS WITH U-15 ‘KEEPER BRIAN PERK: Julian Valentin has been busy talking with members of the other men’s and women’s national teams that are holding training camps this week in Bradenton. Today, Jules chatted up Brian Perk, who has just recently gotten a taste of what it’s like to be involved with U.S. Soccer as he went on his first trip with the Under-15 Men’s National Team earlier this year when the team went to Mexico and played against local club teams. Now, the 5’10” ‘keeper is with the U-15s during their training camp in Bradenton, Fla., and is hoping to impress the coaches to possibly get invited to U.S. Soccer’s Residency Program in the near future. As Perk gets a sense of what living and training in Bradenton would be like, he sat down with current Jules, who has been involved in the Residency Program since Sept. 2002, to talk about his path to the national team, his goals for the future and what its like to surf in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.

/articles/viewArticle.jsp_55130.html A GATOR INVADER: While the players on the U-17 WNT and the U-16 GNT probably welcomed the numerous college scouts that were out in force again to watch their match this morning, there was another spectator that wasn’t as gladly received by the girls. Behind one of the goals was a 3-foot alligator that had crawled out of the nearby pond to soak in the sun. While the gator was a mere 10 feet from the endline, there was no worry of the little guy wandering onto the field during the game as it was on the other side of the 20-foot net separating the field and the body of water that winds through IMG Academy. The alligator must have enjoyed what he saw because he stayed there for most of the match, dipping back into the cool water just a few minutes before the final whistle.

NO DRIVER’S LICENSE NEEDED: On Wednesday, the U.S. Under-16 GNT took the afternoon off and went to nearby Pirates Cove, a local amusement park with go-carts, laser tag, video games, miniature golf and batting cages. The most popular choice was the go-carts, and according to team coordinator Dana Schoenwetter there were a large number of crashes. “The thing is most of these girls don’t have their license yet, so they definitely are not good drivers.” Schoenwetter found out first hand as she was on her way to passing head coach Sue Montagne-Patberg on the final lap for the victory before Onnie Trusty slammed into her from behind, ruining her chance to snag the checkered flag.

BACKPACKERS OR SOCCER PLAYERS: The U-17 WNT took time off on Wednesday as well and decided to go shopping at one of the local malls in town. The girls scoured the numerous shops and some of them actually made a few purchases. The oddest occurrence during their two hour trip was when a man asked the girls, who were wearing their Nike backpacks, if they were backpacking across America. When midfielder Courtney Lewis told them they were not and that they were actually the U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team, the man actually seemed disappointed.